Omitted from the 2024 DP World Tour Schedule to make way to its new time slot in the 2025 season, the Nedbank Golf Challenge is this week’s stop.
Serving as the first stop in the DP World Tour’s ‘Opening Swing’ in South Africa after two weeks in Australia, the NedBank Golf Challenge is a limited field event of just 72-golfers.
For 2022 and 2023, this event served as the penultimate stop on the DP World Tour’s season schedule. It is now set to host 72 of the best golfers the DP World Tour (and the PGA Tour) have to offer during the fall.
This event was first played in 1981 although to the tune of an exclusive 12-man invitational. That changed ten years ago when it became an official co-sanctioned event between the Sunshine and DP World Tour and the event was expanded to a 30-man field.
In 2016, the field was increased to 72 golfers and serves as the penultimate stop on the DP World Tour Schedule.
This event returned a year ago but was absent from the DP World Tour schedule since 2019 due to COVID.
The Field
Although a limited field event, this week’s field offers plenty of star power.
Headlining this week’s event is a slew of PGA Tour stars, including the defending champion Max Homa. Homa dominated this event a season ago, winning by four strokes over Nicolai Hojgaard.
Joining Homa as PGA Tour regulars teeing it up this week include Corey Conners, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Thorbjorn Olesen, Will Zalatoris, Nicolai Hojgaard, Mackenzie Hughes and Thomas Detry.
There are many of the DP World Tour stars turning out this week as well, including Thriston Lawrence, Tom Mckibbin, Jordan Smith, Niklas Norgaard, Laurie Canter and Johannes Veerman.
Other former winners of this event teeing it up this week include Danny Willett (2014.)
The Course
The Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa has been the host of this event since its inception in 1981.
It plays as a Par 72 at 7,819 yards.
This is obviously a Gary Player designed track that is a parkland course and is set in an extinct volcanic crater.
Although the course appears super long on the scorecard at 7,819 yards, this venue sits at altitude and the ball will travel roughly ten-percent further than it does at sea level. Therefore, the course does not play as long as it may suggest.
However, this course still plays long.
The fairways featured this week are fairly narrow and are guarded by thick Kikuyu rough.
With the length of this course, driving distance of course will be a key but missing the fairways will be penal with this Kikuyu rough as well.
This Kikuyu rough is notoriously tough to play from. If a golfer is to find themselves buried in the rough often, it is improbable that they will find enough greens in regulation to compete this week.
The greens here at the Gary Player Country Club are Bentgrass, small in size, shaped like clovers and are surrounded by a multitude of bunkers. They run at around 11 on the Simpmeter as well.
The Tour’s better putters will get a leg up this week, especially those who shine on the more difficult Bentgrass greens.
Around the green work will be important this week as well due to the odd shape of these greens along with having to play from the Kikuyu rough at some point across the four days of golf.
As history has shown, any hopeful winner too must attack the four lengthy par fives this course has to offer.
In all, this course is a spectacular piece of golf architecture that too offers a picturesque backdrop of the Pilanesberg Mountains.
The Weather
It will definitely be a change of pace weather wise compared to what most of these golfers are used to for fall golf. Temperatures are set to begin at 95-degrees on Thursday and increasing to 99-degrees on Friday before peaking at 101-degrees on Sunday. Temperatures will fall to 94-degrees on Sunday as forecasts are calling for a 25-percent chance of precipitation and scattered thunderstorms. Winds will be at the highest on Thursday at 16 miles-per-hour before settling to 11 miles-per-hour for both Friday and Saturday and ten miles-per-hour on Sunday.
Key Stats
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Average Driving Distance
Scrambling
Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)
Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)
Par Five Average Scoring
Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)
Sand Saves Percentage
Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)
Betting Card
Thomas Detry (+2200)
The Belgian has played five DP World Tour events dating back to September. He most recently competed at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship where he finished T13th. Detry finished the 2024 DP World Tour season third in par five average scoring, ninth in SG: PUTT, 21st in GIR%, 52nd in average driving distance, 60th in scrambling, 105th in SG: ATG, 116th in SG: OTT and 175th in sand saves percentage. We know Detry as one of the premier putters of the world of golf, finishing last year tenth on the PGA Tour in SG: PUTT. He also offers plus distance off the tee with capable approach play and scrambling numbers.
Tom Mckibbin (+2500)
The young Northern Irishman is set to join the PGA Tour next season after claiming the final spot of the DP World Tour’s top ten promotion last season. What better way to prep for his time in the states with a victory in a field of this status? He finished last season seventh on the DP World Tour in SG: OTT, 16th in par five average scoring, 19th in SG: PUTT, 25th in scrambling, 28th in GIR%, 47th in sand saves percentage, 48th in average driving distance, 63rd in SG: APP and 169th in SG: ATG. Mckibbin finished the 2024 season by going T10th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and T11th at the DP World Tour Championship.
Jesper Svensson (+4500)
Svensson is quickly becoming my new go-to buy on the DP World Tour and I’m completely fine with that. He finished last season seventh on Tour in average driving distance, 12th in par five average scoring, 33th in SG: OTT, 34th in SG: PUTT, 35th in scrambling, 44th in sand saves percentage, 49th in GIR%, 99th in SG: APP and 107th in SG: ATG. He capped his 2024 campaign with a T7th at the DP World Tour Championship.
Sam Bairstow (+7000)
The young Englishman capped off his 2024 season with a T14th at the DP World Tour Championship. He also placed T2nd at the FedEx Open de France down the stretch. He also finished this past season 20th on Tour in SG: PUTT, 23rd in GIR%, 26th in par five average scoring, 28th in average driving distance, 64th in SG: OTT, 80th in sand saves percentage, 92nd in SG: APP, 106th in SG: ATG and 152nd in scrambling.
Joe Dean (+11000)
It wasn’t that long ago that Dean placed T3rd at the Andalucía Masters among a star-studded field. He then went on to place T18th at the FedEx Open de France and finished the season T40th at the DP World Tour Championship. He finished the season 44th in average driving distance, 47th in both SG: OTT and SG: PUTT, 64th in sand saves percentage, 67th in GIR%, 82nd in SG: APP, 84th in scrambling, 92nd in par five average scoring and 120th in SG: ATG.
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